// left.cpp -- string function with a default argument
#include <iostream>
const int ArSize = 80;

char *left(const char *str, int n = 1);

int main() {
    using namespace std;
    char sample[ArSize];
    cout << "Enter a string:\n";
    cin.get(sample, ArSize);
    char *ps = left(sample, 4);
    cout << ps << endl;
    delete [] ps; // free old string
    ps = left(sample);
    cout << ps << endl;
    delete [] ps; // free new string
    // cin.get();
    // cin.get();
    return 0;
}

// This function returns a pointer to a new string
// consisting of the first n characters in the str string.
char *left(const char *str, int n) {
    if (n < 0)
        n = 0;
    char *p = new char[n + 1];
    int i;
    for (i = 0; i < n && str[i]; i++)
        p[i] = str[i]; // copy characters
    while (i <= n)
        p[i++] = '\0'; // set rest of string to '\0'
    return p;
}
